Deicer for airships



p 1939- E. D. MONEGAN ET AL\ 2,173,262

DEICER FOR AIRSHIPS Filed May 6, 1958 2 Shets-Sheet 1 F IG. 1

. EDGAR DANA MQNEGAN 3r PAUL ROU5H E. D. MONEGAN ET AL Sept. 19, 1939.

DEICER FOR AIRSHIPS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed May 6, 1938 EDGAR DANA MONEGAN 8: PAUL AR UsH Patented Sept. 19, 1939 PATENT OFFICE 2,173,262 .nmcan FOR. AIBSHIPS Edgar Dana Monegan and PaulA. Roush, I I], 01110 Application May 0, 1938, Serial No. 206,415 3 Claims. (Cl. 244-134) This invention relates to de-icers for airships.

Heretofore, it has been proposed to provide deicers for airships and aeroplanes which are applied to the leading edges of the wings of the 'ship' and comprise fabric structures formed with inflatable pockets whereby the fabric structures may be inflated at the will of the pilot tobreakup any ice forming on the wing which would tend to weight the ship down. 1 De-icers of this type have not been entirely satisfactory from the standpoint of the expense of manufacture, ease of application, and effectiveness in use. Various attempts have been made to improve upon these structures to attain-the i'ore-. 5 going ends but these attempts have not so far been successful.

It is the general purpose of the present invention to provide an improved de-icer construction of the type described which results in a minimum modification of the desired wing formation and least interference with operation of desired airflow principles, both when the de-icer is being used and when it is not in use. L

A further purpose of the invention is to provide a more economicalstructure.

The foregoing and other purposes of the invention are attained in the de-icer illustrated in the accompanying drawings and described below. It is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the specific form thereof shown and described. f 01 the accompanying drawings:

Figure 1 is a top plan view of an aeroplane embodying the invention. Figure 2 is an enlarged section on line 2-2 of Figure 1, showing the de-icer when in use.

Figure 3 is a similar view showing the de-icer when not in use.

Figure 4 is an enlarged front elevation of a porshown in Figure 1 and showing the improved deicer thereon as in use. s

Figure 5 is a plan view of the de-icer before application to the aeroplane. the de-icer being 5 shown partly broken away and partly in section.

Figure 6 is a section on line 6-6 of Figure 5,

and

Figure '7 is a transverse section through the de.-icer when the same is in use. Referring to the drawings, the numeral l0 des- :ignates an aeroplane having wings II and I2, the

sh tudinally stretchable rubberized or like fabric ll,

tion of the leading 'edge of an aeroplane wing as It, which may be the same or similar fabric to that which has already been used in de-icer constructions. These two layers of fabric are; Joined at their margins as by suitable adhesive cement, for example, rubber cement, and also along trans- 5 verse strips I5, l5, thereby providing between the two layers of fabric a series of extending inflatable pockets [6, l6.

Associated with the two fabric layers and pockets .16, preferably by being extended centrally of 10 4 the de-icer between thetwo layers is provided a flexible de-icer inflating header which may comprise rubber tubing formed with two ducts l8, l8. Apertures in one of the ducts l8 are shown at v l8, l8, connecting its duct IS with alternate l5 pockets i6, apertures from the other duct l8", l8",

extending transversely about the leading surfaces of the wing.

By alternately inflating first one set of pockets 30 and then the other set of pockets, the de-icer will be deformed alternately as indicated in full lines and dotted lines in Figure '7, one alternate set of pockets being inflated and the other set of pockets being stretched and deflated. This will eifectively 35 remove ice from the surfaces of the wing.

As will be apparent the transverselyextending rounded rib-like formations of the alternately inflated pockets, because they are aligned with the direction of travel of the ship, will offer a minimum modification oi the normal surfaces of the leading edges of the wings and will least affect the air-flow and flight of the plane when the .de-icer is being used. when not in use the fabric will lie smoothly on the surfaces of the wing, there being no ribs or edges effecting airflow over the wing' surfaces in any appreciable degree.

Modifications of the invention may be resorted to without departing from the spirit thereof or the scope of the appended claims. What is claimed is:

1. A de-icer for airships comprising two layers or fabric secured together at their margins and along .strips between the margins to provide a fines of inflatable pockets, a means for introducing air into said pockets to inflate the same and thereby modify the suriaces of the de-icer,

said pockets extending transversely of the de-icer.

2. A de-icer for airshipscomprisingtwo layers of fabric secured together at their margins and along strips between the margins to provide a series of inflatable pockets, a means for introducalong strips between the to provide a series oi inflatable pockets, a means for introducing-air mm said pockets to inflate the same and .thereby modify the surfaces of the de-icer, said inflating means being connected with alternate pockets whereby alternate sets 0! pockets may be alternately inflated, said inflating means comprising a flexible tube with two .ductsextending along the de-icer and connected with the respec tive alternate series of pockets.

EDGAR DANA MONEGAN PAUL A. nonsn. 

